The reference in this specification to any prior publication (or information derived from it), or to any matter which is known, is not, and should not be taken as an acknowledgment or admission or any form of suggestion that the prior publication (or information derived from it) or known matter forms part of the common general knowledge in the field of endeavour to which this specification relates.
All physical filters essentially consist of a number of energy storing resonant structures, with paths for energy to flow between the various resonators and between the resonators and the input/output ports. The physical implementation of the resonators and the manner of their interconnections will vary from type to type, but the same basic concept applies to all. Such a filter can be described mathematically in terms of a network of resonators coupled together, although the mathematical topography does not have to match the topography of the real filter.
Conventional single-mode filters formed from dielectric resonators are known. Dielectric resonators have high-Q (low loss) characteristics which enable highly selective filters having a reduced size compared to cavity filters. These single-mode filters tend to be built as a cascade of separated physical dielectric resonators, with various couplings between them and to the ports. These resonators are easily identified as distinct physical objects, and the couplings tend also to be easily identified.
Single-mode filters of this type may include a network of discrete resonators formed from ceramic materials in a “puck” shape, where each resonator has a single dominant resonance frequency, or mode. These resonators are coupled together by providing openings between cavities in which the resonators are located. Typically, the resonators and cross-couplings provide transmission poles and “zeros”, which can be tuned at particular frequencies to provide a desired filter response. A number of resonators will usually be required to achieve suitable filtering characteristics for commercial applications, resulting in filtering equipment of a relatively large size.
One example application of filters formed from dielectric resonators is in frequency division duplexers for microwave telecommunication applications. Duplexers have traditionally been provided at base stations at the bottom of antenna supporting towers, although a current trend for microwave telecommunication system design is to locate filtering and signal processing equipment at the top of the tower to thereby minimise cabling lengths and thus reduce signal losses. However, the size of single mode filters as described above can make these undesirable for implementation at the top of antenna towers.
Multi-mode filters implement several resonators in a single physical body, such that reductions in filter size can be obtained. As an example, a silvered dielectric body can resonate in many different modes. Each of these modes can act as one of the resonators in a filter. In order to provide a practical multi-mode filter it is necessary to couple the energy between the modes within the body, in contrast with the coupling between discrete objects in single mode filters, which is easier to control in practice.
The usual manner in which these multi-mode filters are implemented is to selectively couple the energy from an input port to a first one of the modes. The energy stored in the first mode is then coupled to different modes within the resonator by introducing specific defects into the shape of the body. In this manner, a multi-mode filter can be implemented as an effective cascade of resonators, in a similar way to conventional single mode filter implementations. This technique results in transmission poles which can be tuned to provide a desired filter response.
An example of such an approach is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,853,271, which is directed towards a triple-mode mono-body filter. Energy is coupled into a first mode of a dielectric-filled mono-body resonator, using a suitably configured input probe provided in a hole formed on a face of the resonator. The coupling between this first mode and two other modes of the resonator is accomplished by selectively providing corner cuts or slots on the resonator body.
This technique allows for substantial reductions in filter size because a triple-mode filter of this type represents the equivalent of a single-mode filter composed of three discrete single mode resonators. However, the approach used to couple energy into and out of the resonator, and between the modes within the resonator to provide the effective resonator cascade, requires the body to be of complicated shape, increasing manufacturing costs.
It is an advantage of at least one embodiment of the present invention that it minimises filter spurious responses which would ordinarily be present when exciting a multi-mode filter using typical, prior art, excitation structures.
An alternative manner in which these multi-mode filters may be implemented is to couple the energy from an input port, simultaneously to each one of the modes, by means of a suitably designed coupling track. Again, in this manner, a multi-mode filter can be implemented as an effective cascade of resonators, in a similar way to conventional single mode filter implementations. As was the case above, in which defects were used to enable multiple modes to be excited in a single resonator, this technique results in transmission poles which can be tuned to provide a desired filter response. This type of filter has been disclosed in various US patent filings, for example: U.S. Ser. No. 13/488,123, U.S. Ser. No. 13/488,059, U.S. Ser. No. 13/487,906 and U.S. Ser. No. 13/488,172. Two or more triple-mode filters may still need to be cascaded together to provide a filter assembly with suitable filtering characteristics. As described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,853,271 and 7,042,314 this may be achieved using a single waveguide or a centrally-located single aperture for providing coupling between two resonator mono-bodies. With this approach, the precise control of the modes being coupled to, coupled from or coupled between the bodies, is difficult to achieve and thus, as a consequence, achieving a given, challenging, filter specification is difficult.
Another approach includes using a single-mode combline resonator coupled between two dielectric mono-bodies to form a hybrid filter assembly as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,954,122. In this case, the physical complexity and hence manufacturing costs are even further increased, over and above the use of added defects alone.